THANKSGIVING DAY
HOUSTON TEXANS (3-7) @ DETROIT LIONS (4-6) +2.5 51.5 [O]
“I’ll take NFL Doormats for 600, Alex.
The answer is…”Coaching bad football…”
What the hell has Matt Patricia been doing in Detroit these last three years?
(Respect to Alex Trebek—RIP, Answer Man)
A head coach’s job is simple: put his players in the best position to win games. The current regime in Detroit—GM Robert Quinn and HC Matt Patricia—from the tainted coaching tree of Darth Hoodie--haven’t accomplished that basic objective. Not even close.
Quinn traded or let go first rate talents like Darius Slay, Eric Ebron, or Quandre Diggs, while he and his coach have managed to acquire more former NE players, coaches, water girls, and interns than Belichick has in Foxboro.
Probably just futile attempts at trying to recreate the “Patriot Way.” They must have forgot the most important lesson: it’s not so easy to win when you don’t have a library of opponents’ signals in your IPad.
I understand an NFL team’s two biggest hires have to fill their staffs with people who fit into their comfort zone—but these guys took it to an extreme, and it simply isn’t working out.
Everyone in the Motor City has figured that out.
You sit in a hot seat long enough things get downright uncomfortable if not scorchingly painful.
The Texans are the better team in this matchup even in the midst of their recent axing of HC/GM Bill Obrien. They have a dynamic QB in DeShaun Watson, whose inconsistent output doesn’t quite reach Matt Stafford’s mercurial play.
While it’s true these two clubs are remarkably similar in offensive and defensive inefficiency, the Texans simply do not suck as bad as the Lions.
How’s that for insightful analysis?
And, there is one major difference that separates the Lions from Houston—Detroit players flat quit on Patricia last week in a 20-0 shutout at the hands of the mighty Panthers. Murmurs of players showing little respect for Patricia, have been reported for weeks, if not longer.
Coversely, the Texans, on every organizational level, love interim HC, Romeo Crennell, and his guys would follow him to hell.
JJ Watt is licking his chops; Matt Stafford isn’t—lay the Points and bet the Over.
Texans 32 Lions 26
WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM (3-7) @ DALLAS COWBOYS (3-7) -2.5 46 [O]
Such a joy to handicap a game between two of the NFL’s lousiest teams, property of it’s two most reviled owners, both flailing in the NFL’ s worst division.
Many pundits are eagerly picking Washington, but they have been even more inept offensively than Dallas—but both teams have picked it up their attacks, if last week’s wins are to be believed.
Dallas has more offensive weapons—some emerging after Dak Prescotts ugly injury.
The Washingtons have an excellent defensive front seven but a secondary that can be had. Alex Smith hasn’t performed any better than Andy Dalton has for the Cowboys—and Smith might be just what the Dallas secondary needs to release the pent up frustration that has defined the Cowboys 2020 campaign..
Historically, The ‘Boys are 31 -20 on Thanksgiving and 8-1 against Washington when they were better known as racists.
I think Dallas wins it big Over the Total.
Cowboys 31 WFT 22
***I’ll pick my four Specials and the rest of the slate in Saturday’s post…Happy Thanksgiving****
.
My picks are below in bold italic…
Week 12
Thursday Nov. 26 (Thanksgiving)
Houston @ Detroit +2.5 51.5 12:30 p.m. [O]
Washington @ Dallas -2.5 46 4:30 p.m. [O]